Born in 1924, Sir Neville Marriner CBE studied the violin at the Royal College of Music and then at the Paris Conservatoire. As an orchestral musician in London he experienced various legendary conductors, among them Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Guido Cantelli and Herbert von Karajan. In 1959, while a principal in the London Symphony Orchestra, he founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and as the director of this ensemble gravitated from the concertmaster’s seat towards conducting, Pierre Monteux becoming his mentor. He received his first conducting appointment with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (1969–79) and went on to serve as Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra (1979–86) and Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986–89). Although the majority of his performances and recordings have been with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, he works consistently with major orchestras throughout the world. Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979, he received a knighthood in 1985. The French Ministry of Culture awarded Sir Neville the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1995 for his outstanding lifelong commitment to French cultural life.